Um... actually, this probably doesn't belong in the "copywriting" section but I didn't know where else to put this.... See, I've been copywriting on GetAFreelancer for over a year and after all the high-quality articles and sales pages I've been churning out, I only manage to eek out a few hundred dollars every month.... I guess that's because of all the moronic cheap writers who can afford to bid less than $0.01 a word but that's beside the point... What is important is that I still make only a little more than $500 every month from bidding sites but I do absolutely zero work. How? Easy.... Their affiliate program. Most people (as in 90%) ignore this but I think this is like the best way to make residual money out of these sites without lifting a finger. Here's what I did: First, I got in touch with some "activated adwords account" sellers and got about $600 worth of adwords for $200... then, I used those to attract buyers (service providers aren't very profitable) with my affiliate link... now I have about 100 referrals on GetAFreelancer and the site's generous enough to pay me their project commissions, gold member fees etc in entirety.... better yet, i don't have to run these ads anymore... most of those referrals are permanent and thanks to them, I'm awarded a few hundred bucks every month without even logging in to the site.... Anyway, I just thought I'd share that information and check if anybody else was already cashing in on this.... Thanks
This belongs in the affiliate programs forum... not copywriting. And for the record, it's the not "moronic cheap writers" as you put it that were keeping you from earning more than only a few hundred dollars per month. It was your lack of marketing ability. If that's where you were looking for the bulk of your work, you don't know enough about marketing in a freelance writing career to expect much more out of it yet.
Jenn's right. While I'm not happy with writers charging .01/word, I am not in competition with them. It makes me upset that writers devalue their work to that extent - that's what makes me unhappy about the low rates. If you had an ounce of marketing sensibility you wouldn't have to compete with them either. If you cannot market yourself effectively then don't expect to make more than peanuts.
true true.... I agree on the fact that maybe I should be looking for work elsewhere but I remember commanding $0.03 a word working on GetAFreelancer a year ago. It's only recently that both service buyer and provider quality have declined on bidding sites. This, I really should attribute to incompetent writers who flood the bidding areas forcing quality buyers to relocate to places like DP and other forums. It's really pathetic to see the condition of bidding sites these days. So that's why I think you can potentially make a lot more money using their affiliate program, rather than actually writing or programming... Of course now that I know of DP and WarriorForums, I can expand my horizons and hopefully make more than just chump change out of it. Anyway, thanks for the replies y'all....
DP and other forums aren't much better. You'll find the exact same thing. Those writers still aren't your competition though. To each his own... If you want to use forums more successfully than bidding sites you'll need to spend some time posting quality information other than just advertising services. When you're able, add a signature with your order info, and usually the better gigs will find you as opposed to having to actually look for them.
Once again Jenn has a point! I was going to mention the exact same thing but she beat me to it If you are looking for better and higher paying gigs than the jobs typically offered on bidding sites, forums are not necessarily the place to go! You are not really "expanding your horizons" by advertising for jobs on DP and other similar forums. The same prices are typically found here that are found at most of the bidding sites I've come across. If you are truly serious about making a viable income from writing, you need to ensure everything you post included quality information - let potential clients see what you can do before you even advertise. Like Jenn mentioned, adding a signature with your information will help clients find you, rather than you having to advertise constantly to find them.